OSHKOSH, Wis.- The UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team returns to the third round of the NCAA Division III Championship for the fifth time in the last six national tournaments on Friday (March 14) in Bloomington, Ill. at Illinois Wesleyan University's Shirk Center.
 
The Titans (25-4), ranked 11th in the nation by D3hoops.com and 13th by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, will face No. 4/4 Illinois Wesleyan (28-1), also nicknamed the Titans, at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. No. 18/16 Ohio Wesleyan University (25-3) and No. 7/10 Baldwin Wallace University (Ohio) (28-1) play in the other game of the Bloomington Sectional "Sweet Sixteen" at 5 p.m. The third round winners are set to play in the "Elite Eight" on Saturday (March 15) at 7:30 p.m.

Since joining NCAA Division III in 1981-82, UW-Oshkosh has qualified for 20 tournaments and advanced to the third round of the championship 12 times with seven trips coming under current head coach Brad Fischer.
 
Each of the four teams that compete in Bloomington this weekend won their respective regional tournaments at home. UW-Oshkosh defeated Calvin University (Mich.) and Bethel University (Minn.), Illinois Wesleyan beat Centre College (Ky.) and Trine University (Ind.), Baldwin Wallace beat La Roche College (Pa.) and Washington & Lee University (Va.), and Ohio Wesleyan beat Immaculata University (Pa.) and Washington & Jefferson College (Pa.).
 
UW-Oshkosh currently leads Division III with a nation-low 10.8 turnovers per game and ranks in the top-25 in three additional categories. The Titans sit 10th with a 35.3 three-point percentage, 13th by allowing 49.8 points per game, and 23rd with a 43.7 percent clip from the field.
 
Three-time All-WIAC selection Kayce Vaile (Fifth • Greendale) leads UW-Oshkosh with 12.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while shooting a team best .532 percent from the field. A strong defender in the post, Vaile was also named to the WIAC's All-Defensive Team this season.
 
Sammi Beyer (So. • Appleton) secured All-WIAC status with 10.6 points per game by shooting .438 percent from the field, .402 percent from three, and .800 percent from the foul line. The transfer from Division I University of St. Thomas who can pull up from anywhere on the court also paces Oshkosh with 1.7 assists per game.
 
Alex Rondorf (Grad. • West Bend), who leads Oshkosh shooting .461 percent from beyond the arc, helped the Titans secure the round of 32 win over Bethel with strong defense down the stretch.
 
Hometown forward Paige Seckar (Fr. • Oshkosh), the WIAC's Kwik Trip Newcomer of the Year, averages 5.9 points and 3.8 rebounds off the bench while all-conference honorable mention guards Kate Huml (Jr. • Janesville) and Avery Poole (Jr. • Cottage Grove) both score 8.1 points per contest.
 
Sarah Hardwick (Jr. • Green Bay) was tabbed WIAC All-Defensive for the second straight year. She averages 4.8 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks per contest this season and recorded two steals and a block in the final six minutes of the Titans' victory over Bethel.
 
Among the eight teams from Wisconsin that qualified for the national championship, UW-Oshkosh is one of three left standing. All are members of the WIAC. UW-Stout won the Menomonie Regional with victories over UW-Superior and Whitman College (Wash.) and will face UW-Whitewater in Scranton, Pa. on Friday. The Warhawks reached the Sweet Sixteen with wins over Principia College (Ill.) and UW-La Crosse.